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5 - The Religions of China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2023

David Brown
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews, Scotland
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Summary

After a general survey of the situation in China, attention turns to Daoism and Confucianism and the conflicting interpretations of their key concepts of ‘the Way’ and ‘Heaven.’ A number of reasons are given for considering their approach religious. With Daoism the specific case considered is how Christianity might learn from its approach to the beginning and end of life, in critique of the traditional doctrine of the Fall at the beginning and too tenacious a desire for permanence at its end. With Confucianism the social value of ritual is considered. The work of Daniel Bell and Stephen Angle are used to argue the need for the sacred underpinning of contemporary democracy. Finally, the extent of the change in Buddhism as it adopted the Mahayana position is considered. Here most attention is devoted to the type of arguments deployed for the necessity of change from Shakyamuni’s original message, particularly as presented in the Lotus Sutra.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • The Religions of China
  • David Brown, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Book: Learning from Other Religions
  • Online publication: 30 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009367677.006
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  • The Religions of China
  • David Brown, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Book: Learning from Other Religions
  • Online publication: 30 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009367677.006
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Religions of China
  • David Brown, University of St Andrews, Scotland
  • Book: Learning from Other Religions
  • Online publication: 30 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009367677.006
Available formats
×